What Gordon Ramsay Learned About Food in Every Country

Condé Nast Traveler

Join Chef Gordon Ramsay as he sits down with Condé Nast Traveler to share his favorite foods and places to eat around the world. From the French cuisine that became the backbone of his early career, to his time in India, which helped him perfect vegetarian cooking, discover the destinations across the globe that shaped  Gordon Ramsay’s career and still influence him today.  "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars" premieres globally October 10 on Apple TV+. Executive Produced by Gordon Ramsay and hosted by Jesse Burgess, the series features the world’s best chefs as they compete for the ultimate culinary accolade: a Michelin Star.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Gordon Ramsay and these are some of the best things I've eaten across the world.

00:08Some of the best foods in the world now is coming out of the UK. I'm going to go curry.

00:14It was something I grew up with. I think this country now has some of the best Indian restaurants

00:19anywhere in the world and we have two star Michelin curry houses now and I'm so pleased

00:24and it's only a matter of time before we have our first three star curry house here in the UK.

00:29It's down to that amazing melting pot and the multi-layered, multicultural environment we live in.

00:35I'm a big, big, big fan of Brick Lane. I grew up in the West Midlands in Birmingham.

00:42The community that Brick Lane gives off takes me back to Birmingham, so Brick Lane all day long.

00:50The USA, that's a big country, 50 states, 50 incredible states. I want to go Texas because of the

01:04incredible beef. Texas is like a standalone country on its own. It's vast, it's barren and I've done some

01:11incredible hunting there. Again another melting pot, multicultural and some of the quality of

01:19ingredients is just second to none. I've eaten some of the best beef in the world in Texas and then I

01:26think of places like Austin, Texas and just how charming and rustic the food is. It's incredible,

01:33really incredible. France for me was the backbone of my career. France was humbling. Going to work in

01:48Paris in one of the best restaurants in the world under Guy Savoy and Joe Robuchon at 22 years of age

01:54was a gift. It was an incredible gift. I got lost in France. I became French. When I spoke French,

02:00they asked me whereabouts in France do I come from? I was that obsessed with really understanding

02:05not just haute cuisine but bistro cooking, slow braising, slow roasting, cuisine legere where

02:14everything was aerated and light. I would be in the middle of service as a 22 year old cook and

02:21we'd run out of asparagus and I'd get sent to the market in front of the restaurant to hand pick this

02:27incredible asparagus and the produce is as good for the locals as it is for the restaurants. It's the

02:33same standard whether you're buying produce to cook at home or eating in a restaurant. It's that good

02:40everywhere. Excitement about French cuisine is the regions. Whether you're in the Pays Basque,

02:46Loire Valley, whether you're in Burgundy or whether you're in Brittany, there is something magical that

02:53comes from France every time you visit it. I lived there for three years. I lived in the Rue La Roquette

02:59in the 11th arrondissement in La Bastille. There's a beautiful little bistro on the top of the Rue Saint-Sebain

03:04and there's a little bistro that's still there today. That's my go-to comfort. It's opposite La Bastille

03:11Opera House where I saw Carmen for the first time years ago and then off for a steak frites.

03:23Oh man, if there was one place I would move to tomorrow, I'll be honest, is India. I fell in

03:30love with that place over 25 years ago when I was fortunate enough to cook at an incredible

03:35wedding in Rajasthan and then I spent time in Nagaland and I finished off in an ashram

03:42in southern Kerala, the land of spice. There's a fragrance and a history that is unique and I think

03:52I perfected my vegetarian cuisine after my time in India because the ashram I went to live in and

03:59work in was some of the best vegetarian food I've ever eaten in my entire life and they took the humble

04:07chickpea to a whole new level. There's just something magnetising walking the streets of Mumbai and the

04:13hustle and the bustle. Now having a restaurant in India takes me back there quicker than you know.

04:20I've spent two weeks on the streets in Mumbai sampling some of the best street food anywhere

04:25in the world. You know the doses are incredible. Breakfast is this spice magic that just captivates

04:34you and even in you know intense heat with high temperatures you're still excited about eating

04:40spicy food so I'll go back there tomorrow if I could. Spain took over the sort of culinary hot spots

04:53in my mind 20 years ago. I'm not saying France sat on their laurels but Spain got recognised at the

05:03right time. I fell in love with Galifia years ago. The beef again is incredible, the shellfish

05:09extraordinary. Diving in some of those waters off the west coast of Spain. I had my first experience

05:17with the sea barnacles, the Petves, the tiny little tapas bars in the old town of Barcelona to some of the

05:23Michelin style restaurants in Madrid to some of the best wine in the world with Vega Sicilia being produced

05:30in Spain. So Spain for me is in my top five culinary countries in the world.

05:41Vietnam. I was blown away. In fact I had tears in my eyes when I left Vietnam. I didn't want to come

05:47home. I enjoyed it that much. I was fortunate enough to float down the Mekong Delta with a family

05:53that was harvesting crocodiles. And the markets were exceptional. Watching families go to the markets twice

06:02a day for fresh ingredients was mind-blowing. When you see the hustle and the bustle of those local

06:09markets, fish market, meat market, vegetable markets, the produce is incredible. And the good news is it stays there. It's not exported.

06:17And so their eating habits are some of the best in the world because it's grown locally, sourced locally,

06:26and it's not food that's been spoiled with major influences. Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine stands alone

06:34and it's freaking iconic. I love it. I did a slow cooked braised pork belly with noodles that

06:41this pork belly was cooked over embers in this clay pot for 12 hours. And it was this sort of melt-in-your-mouth

06:49moment. Whilst the pork was cooking, the broth was simmering away equally for 12 hours. And I then jumped in

06:56this tiny little skiff, this little boat, and started selling it to local fishermen. It was one of the most

07:03inspirational moments of my culinary career.

07:11Oh boy. I was blown away when I went to spend some time in Oaxaca. I love Mexican cuisine. I love what

07:21it stands for. I love the rustic charm. But I thought I understood how to make a mole. And I got

07:29schooled, man. Honestly, I got absolutely torn apart. Prior to visiting Mexico, mastering a mole,

07:35I was spending up to sort of four or five hours making it. My first day in Oaxaca, I spent 11 hours

07:41perfecting a mole. It took me back to almost like being back at college. It was that instrumental.

07:49And then you think of the unfussy style, whether you're eating a beautiful taco, or whether you're

07:58eating a braised short rib, there's something quite unique. And then the chocolate that's produced

08:03in Mexico is some of the best chocolate anywhere in the world. So I love Mexico.

08:14I fell in love with Australia because of the uniqueness in their cuisine. Produce-led. I

08:22couldn't quite believe the standard of fish, shellfish, lamb, beef. It was incredible. They

08:34produce some of the best whiskey in the world in Tassie. There's more whiskey distilleries per square

08:39mile in Tasmania than anywhere else in the world. But what I was blown away with was the spiny

08:45lobsters. These things were like four foot long. And I went diving there. And it was in the middle of

08:52the Great White Highway. And I'm bedding down in amongst all this kelp. I'm on aerated tanks from

09:00the boat. And it's the first time I'd spotted a great white shark. And I just stayed calm. I had my

09:07hand on the spiny lobster. And I thought, I've got the prized asset. I'm about to be eaten by a great

09:13white. I put my tummy on top of the spiny lobster. I laid down on the kelp. And I waited for this

09:1912, 14 foot great white shark past me. I got up on the boat. And I said to my dive buddy,

09:29did you see the size of that shark? He said, no. Are you talking about the juvenile,

09:35the baby great white? I'm like, oh my God, that's the baby one. So yeah, Tasmania all day long.

09:41Oh man, Morocco. There is something quite uplifting at the Medina. The energy, it's like,

09:53I don't know if you've ever gone surfing. But the energy that the ocean gives off, this is what these

09:57food markets do for me, the Medina. The Berber mountains and what they stand for. How barren, how

10:04tough the environment is, it always produces incredible food. I never had tasted camel before

10:12going to Morocco. And I was a little bit skeptical because of the amount of times I've ridden a camel.

10:18I had one of the best camel braised dishes I've ever eaten in my entire life. There's something

10:25humbling about the overuse of spice and what they do with it and how they cook and just the open fire

10:36coolness. They want for nothing. They cook some of the best food in the world.

10:47South Africa for me was like going to cook in the Wild West. I fell in love with South Africa years ago

10:54when I started running the ultra marathons called Comrades. I would start at Peterbritzburg and go

10:59to Durban. One year it would be uphill, next year it would be downhill. I'd go through all those amazing

11:04little towns, Pine Town, Polly Shorts, and climb these incredible hills and then feast on some of the

11:11best braai, the best barbecues in the world. The fish markets in Durban are incredible because the

11:18produce is in abundance. It's exciting traveling to Durban because there's no jet lag. We're on the same

11:22time zone but our winter is their summer and so it's a perfect destination to disappear from the UK

11:30to Durban in the middle of winter and embellish their incredible, wonderful summers.

11:41Denmark is almost like the sleeping beauty of the culinary world because that whole Scandinavian

11:47respect is second to none. Denmark have got it right in terms of what they produce. It is

11:55an inspiration beyond belief and I started focusing on Scandinavia 20 years ago and that lightness,

12:04the fermentations, the pickling, the marinades but again the produce second to none and again the better

12:12ingredient, the little it needs to do to it. I think the exact thing about Denmark for me is the

12:17destinational restaurants, especially out in the forest, so therapeutic. We've been lucky enough to

12:24captivate magic with some Michelin-style chefs that are on this incredible journey and the surroundings

12:29are serene, calm, the environment is friendly, sustainable and what they stand for is just ethically

12:38clean. It's the sort of, it's the perfect foodie world, no waste, incredibly green, sustainable but magical.

12:51A dream food destination that you're yet to visit, it's going to be South America, it's going to be

12:56Sao Paulo, Brazil. We have such an amazing draw in Brazil, I can't wait to go there. Everyone talks about

13:05the sort of Portuguese influence and the crossover with the sort of Spanish and the French influence,

13:10so Brazil is next.

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